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John Gearity wasn’t sure what he was getting John Wilson into. He said the pass left his hand weird, like it was going to sail and become an interception and felt if Wilson reeled it in that his teammate would pay for it.

“It was a scary pass,” Gearity said. “If he caught it I was afraid he was going to get injured off a hit or something. I was real nervous.”

Wilson was hit when he caught the ball, colliding with St. Peter’s defender Chris Galea near midfield. The senior, though, stayed on his feet and bounced it to the outside for a 68-yard touchdown that gave Xavier a two-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter.

“I saw him coming and I braced for impact,” Wilson said. “I guess I just got lower than him.”

The Eagles answered with a score of their own, but visiting Xavier was able to secure a 20-7 victory in a CHSFL AA-A league game Sunday afternoon. The Knights rushed for 243 yards and Chris Mattina ran for 143 yards on 23 carries.

“We just keep running and running and running,” Wilson said. "I guess they weren’t expecting it. I know I wouldn’t on defense."

St. Peter’s (2-2, 2-2 CHSFL AA-A) had a chance to strike first, but botched the snap on field goal attempt on its opening drive. The methodical Xavier running attack controlled the tempo of the game the rest of the way and kept a talented Eagles offense off the field.

Xavier (2-3, 2-2) went 85 yards on 16 plays behind four different backs and Jonny Clark capped the drive with a 3-yard run to make it 7-0 in the first half. They took more than six minutes off the clock to start the third quarter and ran 14 plays for 78 yards ending with a Clark touchdown run to put the game out of reach and extend its lead to 20-7 with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles had the ball four times and ran just 19 plays in the second half. Their only score came on a John Woodford touchdown pass to Jonathan Baratta in the fourth quarter to make it 14-7.

“We aren’t getting the big plays we have been getting,” Xavier coach Chris Stevens said. “Controlling the ball is very important, but now we have a defense.”

The Xavier defense had its biggest stop of the game after St. Peter’s recovered a fumble on the Knights 26-yard line late in the third quarter. Four plays later the Eagles were back to the 41 and had no points to show for it. Stevens lauded his defense’s play after the game, crediting coordinators Bill Paszke and Kevin Kelly. Gearity said he has great and easy schemes to remember each week. Xavier has now won two of its last three games and look to be hitting its stride.

“We give him hope and we take it right way,” Wilson said of the stop after the fumble. “It was fun.”




	CHSFL rankings: Week 4 St. Peter's and Bishop Ford flip flop at bottom of Top 10 By DYLAN BUTLER and JOSEPH STASZEWSKI 9. St. Peter’s (2-1) (10) The Eagles’ 35-14 loss in the opening week of the league season to St. John the Baptist seems like years ago after a second consecutive blowout win on Saturday. St. Peter’s defense delivered big time and Hakim Rice had another huge game on the ground. Granted the two wins have come against Christ the King and Cardinal Spellman, two of the worst teams in the league. St. Peters’ has a brutal second half of the season, though, beginning with Xavier in Week 5.



	Xavier Grinds Out Victory Over St. Peter's Solid defense grounds Eagles in 20 - 7 win

	Stephen Hart, October 11, 2009 6:07 p.m. Over the past few seasons, Xavier has established itself as one of the preeminent rushing teams in the entire state. But the Knights traveled through the air for their biggest play in a 20-7 CHSFL victory at St. Peter's on Sunday. Holding a slim 7-0 lead early in the fourth quarter, Xavier's single-wing offense was faced with a second-and-12 at its own 32. That's when John Gearity -- the primary passer among the Knight backs -- lofted the ball down the left side for John Wilson. The toss seemed to be a yard ahead of Wilson, who also appeared to be on a collision course with Eagles defender Chris Galea. Wilson not only hauled in the pass near midfield, but withstood a hit by Galea then spun out of it and raced the remaining 50 yards to paydirt. "I was just hoping John could hold onto it and get the first down," said Xavier coach Chris Stevens. "I saw (Galea) coming and I was bracing for impact. But I guess I was lower than him and took off after that," said Wilson. "I guess (St. Peter's) wasn't expecting us to pass ... and the way we run the ball, I wouldn't have expected it, either." The Eagles (2-2 CHSFL and overall) responded immediately as Hakeem Rice returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards to the Xavier 25. Three plays later, QB John Woodford connected on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Baratta to close to within 14-7 with almost nine minutes to go. Then the Knights (2-2, 2-3) did what they do best: producing a 14-play drive (all runs) that ate up 83 yards of real estate and seven-plus minutes off the clock, ending with Jonny Clark's second TD run of the afternoon from 5 yards out to seal the win. The Eagles had opened the game with a solid series, using 10 plays to move from their 35 to the Xavier 17. But on third-and-1, Woodford was sacked for a 5-yard loss. To make matters worse, an errant snap back to the holder on the next play prevented Ben Cosovic from attempting a 39-yard field goal, killing the Eagles' momentum. "It was a play-action pass, and I thought we had a good look at it," said SP coach Mike Cosentino of the key third-down sack. "I thought it was a good call. We had a receiver open in the flat, but something broke down on the play ... maybe a missed block, I'm not sure." The Knights opened the scoring with a 13-play march that took up much of the second quarter, highlighted by a 23-yard completion from Gearity to Wilson, capped by Jonny Clark's first TD jaunt for 2 yards. While Xavier finished with 248 yards on the ground and another 91 in the air, the Eagles mustered only 92 yards of offense (31 rushing, 61 passing) and had only eight first downs to the Knights' 21. NOTES: Rice wasn't part of the Eagles' impressive opening drive, as he was benched for the first quarter for an undisclosed reason. He only ended up with 6 yards rushing on eight carries. ... Xavier was 3-0 on Staten Island last year, having defeated SP 51-25, Moore Catholic 37-12 and then beating Monsignor Farrell 30-27 in the CHSFL AA quarterfinals.

	Wilson's bump and run lifts Xavier over St. Peter's John Wilson collides with a defender, but stays on his feet to find the end zone for eventually winning score By JOSEPH STASZEWSKI John Gearity wasn’t sure what he was getting John Wilson into. He said the pass left his hand weird, like it was going to sail and become an interception and felt if Wilson reeled it in that his teammate would pay for it. “It was a scary pass,” Gearity said. “If he caught it I was afraid he was going to get injured off a hit or something. I was real nervous.” Wilson was hit when he caught the ball, colliding with St. Peter’s defender Chris Galea near midfield. The senior, though, stayed on his feet and bounced it to the outside for a 68-yard touchdown that gave Xavier a two-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter. “I saw him coming and I braced for impact,” Wilson said. “I guess I just got lower than him.” The Eagles answered with a score of their own, but visiting Xavier was able to secure a 20-7 victory in a CHSFL AA-A league game Sunday afternoon. The Knights rushed for 243 yards and Chris Mattina ran for 143 yards on 23 carries. “We just keep running and running and running,” Wilson said. "I guess they weren’t expecting it. I know I wouldn’t on defense." St. Peter’s (2-2, 2-2 CHSFL AA-A) had a chance to strike first, but botched the snap on field goal attempt on its opening drive. The methodical Xavier running attack controlled the tempo of the game the rest of the way and kept a talented Eagles offense off the field. Xavier (2-3, 2-2) went 85 yards on 16 plays behind four different backs and Jonny Clark capped the drive with a 3-yard run to make it 7-0 in the first half. They took more than six minutes off the clock to start the third quarter and ran 14 plays for 78 yards ending with a Clark touchdown run to put the game out of reach and extend its lead to 20-7 with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter. The Eagles had the ball four times and ran just 19 plays in the second half. Their only score came on a John Woodford touchdown pass to Jonathan Baratta in the fourth quarter to make it 14-7. “We aren’t getting the big plays we have been getting,” Xavier coach Chris Stevens said. “Controlling the ball is very important, but now we have a defense.” The Xavier defense had its biggest stop of the game after St. Peter’s recovered a fumble on the Knights 26-yard line late in the third quarter. Four plays later the Eagles were back to the 41 and had no points to show for it. Stevens lauded his defense’s play after the game, crediting coordinators Bill Paszke and Kevin Kelly. Gearity said he has great and easy schemes to remember each week. Xavier has now won two of its last three games and look to be hitting its stride. “We give him hope and we take it right way,” Wilson said of the stop after the fumble. “It was fun.”

	Eagles can't spread wings in loss to Xavier By JOSEPH STASZEWSKI There were glimmers of hope for St. Peter’s, but that’s all they were... The Eagles opened the game driving to the Xavier 23-yard line, but botched the snap on a field goal and came away empty. They recovered a fumble on the Knights 26-yard line, went backwards on four plays and again did not score early in the fourth quarter. St. Peter’s finally got on the board to pull within a touchdown, only to see Xavier march down filed for a score of its own to put the game way. The Knights dominated possession with their running game and walked away with 20-7 win over host St. Peter’s in a CHSFL AA-A league game Sunday afternoon. “They don’t give you many opportunities to get your offense on the field,” St. Peter’s coach Mike Cosentino said. “Those long drives keep you off the field.” The Knights (2-3, 2-2 CHSFL AA-A) had two scoring drives of at least 14 plays and more than 75 yards, including its first, which ended in a Jonny Clark touchdown run. One big play, however, did the Eagles in when John Gearity connected with John Wilson for a 68-yard touchdown pass. Wilson caught the ball and collided at midfield with St. Peter’s defender Chris Galea, but didn’t go down. He ran the ball down the left sideline to make it 14-0 Xavier less than two minutes into the game. “The kid [Wilson] made a good catch and we didn’t make the play when we had to,” Cosentino said. “We didn’t make the tackle.” St. Peter's senior running back Hakim Rice took the ensuing kickoff back 65-yards to the Xavier 25. It set up John Woodford’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Baratta to cut the Knights lead to 14-7 with 8:57 left. Xavier answer with a long drive capped by a Clark scoring run with 1:36 remaining to put the game out of reach. “It felt like we still had the game,” St. Peter’s senior Gabe Ogbu said of the feeling after Rice’s kickoff return. Rice, who carried the ball just six times for nine yards, sat then entire first quarter, in favor fullback Dan Fischetti. Cosentino said the speedy tailback was sick and missed practices during the week, where Fischetti took most of the reps for the Eagles (2-2, 2-2). “He did the work for a couple of days while Hakim was sick,” Cosentino said. “I just felt like I wanted to give him some time.”

CHSFL rankings: Week 4

St. Peter's and Bishop Ford flip flop at bottom of Top 10

Wilson's bump and run lifts Xavier over St. Peter's

John Wilson collides with a defender, but stays on his feet to find the end zone for eventually winning score

Eagles can't spread wings in loss to Xavier